Eight Days of Hanukkah
by starspangledpumpkin
Summary: Percy, Tyson, and Sally run a coffee shop in a college town. One winter break, he meets Annabeth who is not going home and decides to invite her over for Hanukkah. CoffeeShop!AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Secret Santa**

**4A - Ritual/Tradition**

**Fandom: Percy Jackson**

**Type: Romance**

**Prompts: Coffee Shop!AU; Coffee; Mornings; Jazz Music**

**Warnings: Mentioned past abuse.**

**For Gab aka HecateA.**

~o0o~

The sky had barely turned grey when Percy unlocked the door to his mom's shop. They were famous for their coffee, but they also had a good selection of baked goods. The college kids couldn't get enough of the fudge. Mom wasn't feeling well, so it was just him and his half-brother working today.

"Alright, Tyson," he said. "Opening time. Fill up the ice machine before you make the next batch of fudge."

"Okay, Percy," Tyson called from the back.

Winter was Percy's least favorite season. For starters, he couldn't surf. Couldn't afford the gear. Second, he had to deal with the college kids who thought they were better than him simply because they were in college. School just wasn't his thing and why would he want to go into debt when he already had a job he didn't mind doing?

Percy turned on the Smooth Jazz album his mom always played before crouching down to arrange the stuff in the display case. The bell above the door chimed.

"I'll be with you in a sec," Percy called.

"Take your time," came a girl's voice. "I actually have an odd request you'll think is crazy."

"I'm not allowed to insult customers directly," he replied drily and straightened up. When he saw the customer, only one thought crossed his mind, _"Uhh…"_

She had blonde hair that wildly poked out from her snow cap and sharp grey eyes.

"Pretty."

Tyson had stepped out of the kitchen with a tray of wrapped fudge squares and was staring at the girl. She seemed a bit surprised when she saw him. Then again, Tyson had been through a lot. Not only was he the biggest fifteen-year-old around, he also only had one eye. A present left from their ex-stepdad.

Percy cleared his throat. "What can I get for you?"

She blinked and looked from Tyson back to him.

"Like I said, I have an odd request. My roommate took the hot plate and I always have this special kind of hot chocolate every year. I'm not going home, but I still have this tradition."

"Percy makes good cocoa," said Tyson.

"I'll pay extra for the specialty," she said and dug around her bag. "I also have the main two ingredients."

Well… she wasn't mean to Tyson like a lot of the kids that came in, but she still seemed a little stuck up in the I'm-much-smarter-than-you way. Maybe that was true, but he didn't have to like it.

"Alright," he said. "I'll just charge you the regular price for specialty cocoa. What do you want?"

She took out a jar of peanut butter and some marshmallow fluff. Tyson gasped excitedly and shook Percy.

"Peanut butter! She has peanut butter!"

"Yep, I see Ty," he said, swaying with the momentum. "Watch your strength."

"Sorry, brother."

"It's okay big guy, why don't you go back to the kitchen and I'll make you a cup?"

"Okay!" he clapped his hands and went back to his baking. "Yes! Peanut butter hot cocoa. Peanut butter is good."

Percy charged her for the caramel cocoa.

"Can I have a name for the order, please?" he asked.

"Annabeth," she said. "My name is Annabeth."

Percy got to work on making her drink. She rested her arms on the glass display and watched him.

"Are you a student?" she asked. "I don't think I've seen you around campus."

"Nah, I just live here. We used to live in New York."

"Must be a lot different from Oregon."

"Oh, yeah, when we first got here it was so quiet I couldn't sleep," he said.

"Why did you move here?" she asked.

"You ask a lot of questions," he said, stirring in the peanut butter.

"You don't get full scholarships by a lack of curiosity," she replied.

"Alright, Wise Girl, if you must know we came here to get away from my stepfather, Smelly Gabe. My actual father split shortly after I was born and came back briefly to give Tyson to my mom. Guess he couldn't handle a disabled kid, but Mom wasn't about to let him be abandoned. We moved here because Mom's uncle owned this cafe and was getting too old. Gabe doesn't know where we are and Mom is happy."

"What about you?"

He shrugged and shook the can of whipped topping.

"I'm happy if Mom is happy," he said. "I don't mind doing this job and in the summer, Mom lets me go surfing whenever I want. Yo, Tyson! Cocoa's done."

Tyson ran in like a bull and skidded to a stop by Percy.

"Got a big mug for you," he said and passed it over.

"Thank you, Percy. I'll go drink this in the back and you talk more to pretty Annabeth."

Was Tyson trying to set him up? Percy cleared his throat and put the two extra mugs of chocolate on a tray. If any customers came in, he could always get up and take care of them.

"Alright, Wise Girl, your turn," he said. "Why aren't you going home for the holidays? Seriously, campus is empty for these three weeks, our only customers are professors who don't have extended family to visit."

"I'll make it quick," she said. "Every Christmas has always ended in a fight between me and my stepmom. My dad has a new family, he doesn't need me there to spoil everything. I told him that a blizzard cancelled my flight and he should celebrate without me. Didn't even seem that disappointed. I was just gonna stay in with my books. Have ramen for dinner."

Percy wasn't sure what made him say it. Sure this girl was cute and she was nice to Tyson, but he hardly knew anything about her. Maybe he just felt a connection or maybe he couldn't stand the thought of someone being alone due to a crappy family.

"Why don't you come celebrate Hanukkah with us tonight?" he said. "Mom always makes good food and we always play games and stuff. On the eighth day, we get to celebrate the true meaning of Hanukkah."

"Peace?"

Percy grinned, "Guerilla warfare. Mom takes us to the paintball place in the next town."

"I'm not Jewish though, is that a problem?"

"Not at all," Percy replied. "Anyone is welcome."

"Alright, then I'll join you."


	2. Chapter 2

**E5 - Fire Torch/Candle**

**Challenges**: In a Flash; The Real MC; Wise Seaweed; Mountain Dwellers; Coffee Life; Ways to the heart; Themes & Things A (Celebration);

**Word Count**: 842

**Warnings**: Mention of past abuse

~o0o~

"Percy?" Mom backed up to see him standing in front of the bathroom mirror. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," he said, tossing the comb down. "I just wanted to look nice tonight, that's all."

"Oh? That wouldn't have anything to do with the pretty girl you invited over would it?"

"Mo-o-om," he groaned. "She's all alone, I just thought she could sit in Elijah's seat."

"Mmhmm, okay," she said. "What's her name again?"

"Annabeth, uh, I don't know her last name, but she's a student at the school. She was nice to Tyson, which is a nice change. Most people are either horrible or they just ignore him."

"I'm glad to hear it. He seems excited about her coming over."

A knock came at the front door.

"She's here, she's here, she's here!" Tyson called out.

Percy rushed out of the bathroom and opened the door. Annabeth stood there with a gift bag in hand, bundled up like she was that morning.

"Come on in, Annabeth," he said, stepping aside.

"Don't forget to take her coat, Percy," said Tyson sitting down in his rocking chair.

"Yeah, uh, I'll just hang it up in that closet," he said.

Annabeth shed her winter gear and handed it to him to put away. Mom came in with that warm smile of hers that could make anyone feel good about themselves.

"Annabeth, so nice to meet you," she said, maneuvering her wheelchair around the furniture. "I'm Sally Jackson."

"Nice to meet you, too," Annabeth replied. "Thank you so much for having me."

"We're always happy to have guests," Mom assured her.

"It's sunset," said Tyson.

"Oh, of course, thank you Tyson," said Mom. "Annabeth, you're welcome to participate."

"I think I'll just watch," she said. "I researched a bit about it, but all the articles use terminology that contradicts what I've heard Jewish people use."

"Probably because half of them are written by goyim," said Percy. "Different celebrations are viewed and related through a Christian lens."

"That would actually be a very interesting essay topic," she said, getting out her phone to write it down.

"Percy, would you do the honors?"

"Sure, Mom." He got out the matches and struck one, lighting the shammash then picking it up to light the far left candle.

He, Mom, and Tyson recited the three prayers. With Smelly Gabe around they didn't really celebrate much, but for the past four years they could live freely.

"Alright," said Mom. "They tried to kill us, we survived, let's eat!"

Tyson clapped his hands and led the way to the dinner table. Mom took the aluminum off the plates and took her place at the head of the table.

Percy glanced at Annabeth and saw her snapping a hair tie against her wrist.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Mm, ADHD," she said. "I got in trouble a lot for inappropriate questions."

"Percy had ADHD as well," said Mom. "We're no strangers to questions so ask away before you explode."

"Have you always been in a wheelchair? Because this place is not equipped for a wheelchair user."

"No. This is recent," she said. "About four years."

"That's when you moved here," Annabeth stated.

"Just before, actually. The boys and I were going up to this cabin on Long Island. It started raining really badly and something ran out in front of the car. The boys were okay in the back seat but my legs got pinned by the front."

"Gabe didn't think paralyzation was any excuse to not get housework done," Percy muttered darkly and cleared his throat. "So, you have ADHD?"

"Yeah, and dyslexia."

"But you're, like, smart and everything."

"You can have ADHD and dyslexia and still be smart," Annabeth snapped.

"Not according to every teacher I've ever had."

"You are smart in your own way, Percy," said Mom. "You can't fail a fish for climbing a tree."

"Oh… you have it, too," said Annabeth. "Sorry, I thought you were being snide not self-deprecating."

"So, Annabeth, what are you majoring in?" Mom asked, easily changing the subject.

"Architecture and interior design," she said, lighting up in a way that took Percy's breath away. "So, there's this program that lets you design entire cities and for fun I've been designing cities that draw from ancient civilizations much like Western society draws from Greek architecture."

Percy nodded like he understood, but he didn't quite get it.

During dinner, Annabeth shared her passion for architecture and Percy shared his for surfing and swimming. After a while, it seemed like the two of them were talking just to each other while Mom and Tyson looked on with wide smiles. He wasn't sure why, it's not like he was getting a girlfriend out of this.

"That was really good, Sally," said Annabeth. "Thank you again for having me over."

"Oh, you're welcome any time," said Mom cheerfully. "You can join us for all eight days if you'd like."

Annabeth smiled and Percy felt his stomach jump unexpectedly.

"You know… I think I might like that," she said.


End file.
